Healthy Organic Snacks For Kids

You can buy ready-made organic snacks or make them at home using organic ingredients. The term "organic" in the food industry refers to both the food and the way it is produced. Since 2002, foods certified as organic by the National Organic Program must be grown and produced by means of organic farming. A study published in 2006 in "Environmental Health Perspectives," reported pesticides found in the urine of young children disappeared following a switch from non-organic to organic food and quickly jumped back above Environmental Protection Agency safety limits when children returned to conventional foods.

Fruits and Vegetables

Organic fruits and vegetables may be more expensive than conventionally grown or imported produce. Buy organic when it comes to fruits and vegetables that have thin, permeable skin because high levels of pesticides remain even after you wash them. For a healthy snack, offer children washed organic apples, blackberries, blueberries, carrots, celery, cherries, grapes, lettuce, nectarines, peaches, pears, peppers, potatoes, raspberries, spinach or strawberries. The time to save money and purchase conventionally grown fruits and vegetables is when you buy produce that is somewhat pest-resistant or has thicker skins or peels that you can discard, such as asparagus, avocados, bananas, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, corn, eggplants, grapefruit, kiwi, mangoes, melons, oranges, papaya, pineapple, squash and sweet peas.

Some homemade organic snacks include celery sticks and cream cheese sprinkled with raisins; pita bread stuffed with hummus and spinach or with avocado, tomato, lettuce and grated cheese; and vegetable sticks with hummus dip. Make a vegan dip by blending soy cream cheese, some apple or orange juice plus cinnamon, and serve with dippable apple slices, strawberries or banana pieces. Store-bought organic snacks include dehydrated vegetables and squeezable, no-sugar-added applesauce, in flavors such as basic apple, strawberry, cinnamon, banana and peach.

Grain-Based Snacks

Healthy whole-grain snacks are fiber-rich and high in complex carbohydrates, which can provide long-lasting energy. Use all-organic ingredients to prepare snacks, such as homemade waffle sandwiches with peanut butter and fruit spread or pancake roll-ups with cream cheese and sliced fruit filling. A trail mix with organic granola, nuts and dried fruit can be made ahead of time for a healthy snack. If your children show resistance to eating new organic foods, take them with you when you go shopping. Let them choose from a selection of healthy, organic cookies, crackers, cereals and granola bars. This works best if you shop locally at an organic grocery store where any food your child chooses is more likely to be organic and healthy.

Dairy Snacks

Organic dairy products, such as milk, yogurt and kefir, a product rich in probiotics, are available pre-made or you can use them as ingredients in healthy homemade snacks for kids. Blend smoothies at home using yogurt, milk, fresh fruit and organic sorbet, or purchase smoothies in individual containers or squeeze pouches in the dairy section of the grocery store. Many yogurt companies offer organic yogurt in various flavors, so read the labels and choose products your children will enjoy.

Nuts, Seeds and Legumes

Children are particularly susceptible to health issues related to eating foods grown with even low levels of pesticides. The Environmental Protection Agency acknowledges that the sensitivity of children may lead to neurological and developmental effects from exposure to certain pesticides. Nuts, seeds and legumes provide protein that helps satisfy hunger longer. These foods may have high amounts of fat, but the fat in nuts are monounsaturated and therefore a healthier kind of fat than saturated fats or trans fats. Nut butters can be spread on tart apple slices for a flavorful snack. Roll up some peanut butter and a whole peeled banana in a warm organic whole-wheat tortilla. Adding flax seeds or sunflower seed to cereals and salads add protein plus the crunchiness some kids like.